Brewologist: It's your beer, so hold your head up high

Jul. 15, 2013

This American pale ale was made with ingredients from the Hops Shack in Bucyrus. Whether you prefer to drink a mild beer from a mass-market brewer, an expensive import or your own home brew, take pride in what you drink. / CentralOhio.com file photo

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CentralOhio.com

I get this a lot, believe it or not. People recognize my name or hear that I write about beer, so the conversation turns that way. When I ask them what kind of beer they like, I get something like this: “Oh, I don’t have a sophisticated palate. I like Bud Light.”

Sometimes people even avert their gazes, or hang their heads in shame, as if I’d caught them watching reruns of “Three’s Company” or something.

I do not understand it, frankly.

Hear this, people, and believe it. Drinking Belgian abbey ales instead of Coor’s does not give someone a “sophisticated palate.” Quaffing Miller 64 does not put you lower on the human evolutionary chart than a connoisseur of oatmeal stouts.

Sure, I tease the big mass brewers. When their ads tell me all about Bud’s rich bold taste or put more emphasis on cans that change color or bottles with swirly necks that make your beer revolve like a cyclone when you pour it, I scoff. You want rich bold taste? Try Silver & Gold India pale lager, an anniversary brew from Great Lakes Brewing Company. Or try Hop Head Red from Green Flash Brewing Company. Or try any one of hundreds of other microbrews out there. Bud gives you mild taste, not bold taste, but there is nothing actually wrong with drinking a mild beer if that is what you prefer.

I lob a one-liner at the mass market brewers now and then. For instance, I don’t always pour beer down the sink, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis. But such derision from me is aimed at advertising hyperbole, not at people who prefer lighter brews. I don’t want to drink a Bud, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. They make a bazillion different beer styles for a reason. No one likes them all.

You are an expert on what you like and what you don’t like. It’s all a matter of preference. I’ve paid a hefty price for a nice bottle of ale brewed by Trappist monks in Belgium, and I’ve loved it, but I know others think the same beer tastes like unwashed feet. I love Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, but I don’t like their Festina Peche beer, brewed with peaches. That doesn’t make it a “bad” beer. It just means I didn’t like it. Lots of people think I’m wrong about that, and that’s OK.

So never apologize for what you drink. Let your taste buds swim in whatever seems best to you.

If the phrase “sophisticated palate” doesn’t denote someone who drinks “better” beers, though, what does it mean? Not much, really.

Drinking India pale ales does not mean you have a sophisticated palate, but learning to recognize an IPA when you taste one does — and that remains true even if you decide you loathe IPAs. If you can further discern which hops varieties were used in brewing the IPA, that earns you some more bragging rights. If you take one whiff and nail the hops variety, the brewery, the bottling date and detect that the barley was harvested beneath a full moon by a left-handed farmer with a limp, then you are just freaky.

I prefer the term “trained palate,” and anyone can acquire one. When out for a beer, try a flight of samples. You’ll get a few small servings of several kinds of beers. Drink the lighter beers first and work your way up to the more flavorful stuff, and learn as you go. Visit a brewery with a tasting room and do the same. Or buy mixed six packs, four or five safe ones and one or two just to take a chance on something new.

When you find a brew you like, learn more about the hops and grains and techniques involved so you can seek out other beers that are similar.

You can spend years on such pursuits, because the world of beer is endless. It can be a lot of fun. But if in the end you decide what you really like is an icy cold American light lager, then by all means pour one, smile, take a swig and look the beer snob right in the eye when you say, “ahhhhhhhhhh!”

Beer talk

Followers on Twitter sometimes hit me up with beer questions. What beer goes with roast duck? Which IPA is best? What the heck is an India pale lager?

I love the questions. I don’t always know the answer, but I usually can find someone who does and that way I learn something, too. I also welcome general comments and, of course, your beer recommendations. So look me up; I’m @Brewologist.